


The Heart In The Tree

by irismoon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-14
Updated: 2013-04-14
Packaged: 2017-12-08 12:06:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/761128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irismoon/pseuds/irismoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Lovers carve their names into trees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heart In The Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the SanSan fest. The prompt was "a Scene that leads to a Sansan carving in a heart tree" Prompt by maracuyakongeen 
> 
> Disclaimer: It all belongs to GRRM
> 
> spoilers: thru the books and the show to be safe.

Sansa stumbled thru the snows toward the heart tree, tears blurring her vision. Reaching her destination she sank to her knees and placed her hand upon the rough bark of the weirwood attempting to draw strength from the Old Gods. 

For so long she had been sure that Sandor loved her, the way that she loved him. After all, he came and rescued her from Littlefingers schemes and wandering hands. It had been like a fairy tale, a rescue straight out of the songs. Why had he come for her, brought her North and helped her win back Winterfell if he was not in love with her. Then she remembered their journey north, how difficult it had been, and realized it was nothing like the songs at all. Life never was. Perhaps she had imagined his feelings along with everything else. She had spent so much time pretending to be Alayne, at times she fell back into old habits and became confused on certain details. 

She had seen him today in the training yard, with one of the young wildling girls, spearwives they called themselves. He had laughed with the girl, held her arm as he showed her how to swing the large ax. She knew those girls, and they desired strong men. Warriors such as the Hound, known for his ferocity and bravery would be a great match for one of them. Wildling girls also cared nothing for propriety and openly flaunted their sexual conquests. Sansa could understand why he would want a girl like that. It didn't make her heartbreak any less painful. 

She looked up into face of the heart tree. She traced her fingers along the carved weeping eyes. She thought back to their time together in the Vale, when they were still fleeing north. 

 

*** 

Sansa remember that she had never seen so much snow. 

She had been born during winter. She was a child of the North, winter was in her blood, but she had never known cold like this. She had been afraid. 

They had stopped in a clearing, deep in the woods, fleeing from Lord Baelish and his men. Sandor was taking her to the safety of the Quiet Isle until they could arrange for a ship at Saltpans to take them to the Wall and her brother Jon. Sandor assured her they were close to their destination, but the damned snows kept falling, making their progress slower each day. They had found no shelter and their food was running low. Stranger struggled thru the deepening snows, and she had feared what would happen should they lose the horse. 

She walked toward one of the trees, a large oak. She placed her hands on it, wishing for a weirwood, and the magic of the Godswood. She hoped perhaps the old gods would hear her prayers anyway. Running her fingers across the rough snow cover bark, she felt something. Looking close she saw something carved in the tree. 

Brushing away at the snow and ice she saw a carved heart between two letters. R and L. Her fingers traced the carving over and over. She wondered who had done it and what it meant. She began to shiver as the winds picked up. Sandor had gone to scout ahead, letting Stranger rest for a bit. She heard him return, and he came to stand by her side. She took his hand in hers and brought it to the carving. "What does it mean?" she asked. 

"You have never seen one of these?" he rasped. "Lovers sometimes carve their names or initials into trees." 

She continued to trace the heart. She tried to imagine the people who left it. Two lovers on a journey thru the woods. The carving looked old, whoever carved it had probably died long ago. She looked up at Sandor then, tears in her eyes. 

"We are going to die out here in the snow, arent we?" she whispered. 

He took her in his arms then, the carving in the tree forgotten. "No, Little Bird. I promised to keep you safe, and we are going to make it out of this, I promise." 

 

*** 

Sansa hung her head and cried. She had trusted him, and he kept his word to her. They braved their way thru the snows, and eventually he returned her to Winterfell. 

She wanted to pray. It felt foolish to her, praying for him to love her, when it seemed there was much more important things to pray for. The Gods had always answered her prayers, but never in the way she imagined. She had prayed for mercy for her father, and mercy was granted in a swift death. She had prayed for escape from Kings Landing and when it finally came, she found herself trapped in the Vale instead. She had prayed to be reunited with her mother, only to find her a walking corpse leading a band of outlaws. 

Only one of her prayers had been answered in truth. She had prayed to the Seven to gentle The Hounds rage. That prayer had been answered, just as she wished. 

Perhaps the Old Gods would take to her prayers more kindly. Now more than ever, since she was returned to Winterfell, she felt her connection to the North. She had the blood of the first men. The old ways were her ways, and the Seven had never brought her comfort the way the Godswood did. 

She reached for the dagger Sandor insisted she keep hidden in her sash. Pulling it out of the sheath, she stared at the metal, and they way the sunlight reflected off the blade. Making her decision, she stood and moved to the back of the tree. Removing her gloves she ran her fingers over the bark of the tree till she found the spot she wanted. 

Carefully she began to carve into the tree. It was harder than she expected and soon her fingers grew sore. When she was almost done, her hands had become moist and suddenly she lost her grip on the handle, her hand slipping and slicing her palm open along the blade. 

She cried out dropping the dagger and held her hand, blood flowing freely, dripping crimson onto the white snow. She stumbled a few steps backwards, feeling light headed at seeing so much blood at once. 

"Seven Hells Little Bird!" She looked up in shock upon hearing his voice. Of course he had followed her she thought. It was his job to guard her, to make sure she was safe. He reached for her, grabbing her hand and looking at her wound. 

"What happened?" he questioned, pulling out a handkerchief and holding it to her palm tightly. She stared down at the small square of cloth, and remembered another time, another handkerchief stained with her blood. Then she began to cry again, great sobs racking her body. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the castle. 

 

**** 

The next day she was sitting in her solar, staring at her palm. The Maester had stitched it up, the wound was deep. She then remembered her dagger must be back at the tree where she had dropped it. Retrieving her warmest cloak she hurried to the Godswood, hoping it was not lost to her. Sandor had given it to her as a nameday gift and it was precious to her. Even now she felt odd without its familiar weight in her sash. 

When she arrived at the tree, she saw Sandor standing there, her dagger in his hand. He was staring at the Heart Tree. Slowly she approached him. He looked up at her, his face confused. 

He reached for her hand and took it in his own, bringing it to where she had carved into the wood. His fingers helping her trace the details. Stopping when he got to the end where she had injured herself and not finished. 

Sansa   
Loves   
San 

"What does it mean?" he asked her, and she knew he was remembering another time, and another tree, just as she had the day before. 

"Someone once told me, lovers would carve their names into trees." she whispered, looking up at him. "but that is not what this is, this is a prayer." 

"You carved names into a tree, and bloodied yourself, for a prayer?" he asked her continuing to look confused. "What in the Seven Hells were you praying for Little Bird?" 

She blushed and looked down at the ground, suddenly embarrassed. He took her chin in his fingers like he had done dozens of times before and made her look up at him. Looking into his eyes, she whispered. "I was praying that you would fall in love with me, the way I am with you." 

He dropped his hand from her face and stepped away from her. He stared at her for the longest time, not speaking. Finally, she started to turn from him, ready to flee back to the castle, when he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. 

"Sansa, are you really so blind?" he rasped. He held her close for a time, before abruptly pulling away. He took her dagger and returned to the tree, carving into the bark. When he was done he took her hand and placed it on the words he had carved next to hers. 

 

Sandor   
Loves   
Sansa 

 

She traced her fingers over the words again and again. Finally she dared to look at him, and saw the truth in his eyes. She threw herself into his arms and stood on her toes to kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> I used the R and L for Rhaegar and Lyanna. But i also thought it would work for Renly and Loras. :)


End file.
